March 15, 2021
Building Reopening Standards
First Christian Church of St. Paul
With the rollout of vaccines and falling cases of COVID, it is time to begin preparing to reopen the building. When we reenter the building, it will not be like it was before the pandemic hit in March 2020. There are two separate issues to think about as we look towards coming back to the building. The first question is what standard or threshold will we use to get back into the building? The second question is what happens once we are back in the building?
What will is the sign that tells us it is safer to get back into the building? (There is never going to be a moment that is completely safe. On a spectrum, there is safer and less safe. We are looking for the safest condition to move in.) The standard must be what is safe for vulnerable populations in the congregation. The threshold for moving back into the building will be two weeks after the last vulnerable congregational member is inoculated. Two weeks is considered the time when the vaccine is fully effective. (This threshold is coming sooner rather than later.)
Once we reach that threshold and move into the building, how will we act once we are in the building? For a certain amount of time, we will need to take precautions because not everyone will be vaccinated at that time and we are not sure what will happen with the various variants out there.
When we enter the building, the following standards will be in place:
· Everyone will be asked to wear a mask and social distance.
· Coffee Hour will remain suspended for the near future.
· Only the musicians will be allowed to sing.
· We will use individual communion packs instead of communion trays.
· People will come forward to give their offering.
· There will be no passing of the peace.
· We will continue to provide video to those don’t feel comfortable attending in-person.
We won’t use these standards forever. However, the return to “normalcy” will not come all at once but will happen in stages. We will consult state and federal recommendations as to when we can lift restrictions.
At some point, we won’t wear masks or social distance. At some point, we will be able to sing to our heart’s content. At some point, we will gather in the basement after worship to catch up on each other’s lives. But we will institute these precautions in order to be able to get to the point where we will be able to worship in-person with no restrictions.
How to be a Faith Community in a time of crisis
First Christian is not meeting in-person at this time because of the coronavirus pandemic. Our building is closed save for individual activities. In the new year, the congregation will start to look at creating procedures for when we will begin to move back into our building sometime in 2021. Please stay tuned to this page to learn when we start to move back into the building and begin to worship in-person again.
In November the Regional Minister of the Christian Church in the Upper Midwest, Joshua Patty, explained why in-person worship might not always be the best decision. You can view the video below.
Resources
Below are resources available to help you and your loved ones stay safe during this pandemic.